Notable Awards
Second Lieutenant Walter Marm (later Colonel) received the Medal of Honor on February 15, 1967 for his actions during the 3-day battle at LZ X-Ray. His MOH citation recounts several examples of conspicuous gallantry, some despite being severely wounded.
On July 16, 2001 and February 26, 2007, respectively, helicopter pilots Captain Ed Freeman (later Major) and Bruce Crandall (later Lieutenant Colonel) were each awarded the Medal of Honor for their numerous volunteer flights (14 and 22, respectively) in their unarmed Hueys into LZ X-Ray while enemy fire was so heavy that medical evacuation helicopters refused to approach. With each flight, Crandall and Freeman delivered much needed water and ammunition and extracted wounded soldiers, saving countless lives.
Sergeant Ernie Savage's precise placement of artillery throughout the siege of the "Lost Platoon" enabled the platoon to survive the long ordeal. For his "gallantry under relentless enemy fire on an otherwise insignificant knoll in the valley of the Ia Drang," Ernie Savage received the Distinguished Service Cross.
Lieutenant Colonel Harold "Hal" Moore (later Lieutenant General), commanding officer of the 1st Battalion, 7th Cavalry Regiment was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions at LZ X-Ray. His DSC citation particularly commends his "leadership by example" as well as his skill in battle against overwhelming odds and his unwavering courage.
Journalist Joseph Galloway was the only civilian awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor during the Vietnam war when he repeatedly disregarded his own safety to rescue wounded soldiers while under fire.
Although many notable decorations have been awarded to veterans of the Battle of Ia Drang, in his book We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, Harold Moore writes:
- "We had problems on the awards... Too many men had died bravely and heroically, while the men who had witnessed their deeds had also been killed... Acts of valor that, on other fields, on other days, would have been rewarded with the Medal of Honor or Distinguished Service Cross or a Silver Star were recognized only with a telegram saying, 'The Secretary of the Army regrets...' The same was true of our sister battalion, the 2nd of the 7th."
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Ia Drang
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